Badagry

Badagry
Town
A chair market at Badagry in 1910.
Badagry shown within the State of Lagos
Badagry Location of Badagry in Nigeria
Coordinates: 6°25′N 2°53′E / 6.417°N 2.883°E / 6.417; 2.883
Country	Nigeria
State	Lagos State
LGA	Badagry
Government
• Chairman	Funmilayo Muhammed
Area
• Total	170 sq mi (441 km2)
Population (2006)
• Total	241,093
Time zone	WAT (UTC+1)
Website	http://www.badagrygov.org/

Badagry (traditionally Gbagle) is a coastal town and local government area (LGA) in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is situated between the city of Lagos, and the border with Benin at Seme. As of the preliminary 2006 census results, the municipality had a population of 241,093.

Founded in the early 15th century on a lagoon off the Gulf of Guinea, its protected harbour led to the town becoming a key port in the export of slaves to the Americas, which were mainly to Salvador, Bahia in Brazil. Badagry is a monarchy headed by the Wheno Aholuship, a kingship head by the Akran of Badagry and his seven white cap high chiefs. The white cap chiefs administer the eight quarters into which Badagry is divided, they include Ahovikoh, Boekoh, Jegba, Posukoh, Awhanjigo, Asago, Whalako and Ganho. These quarters and the families that ruled them played prominent roles in brokering slave trade with the Europeans and Brazilians. From the 1840s, following the suppression of the slave trade, Badagry declined significantly, but became a major site of Christian mission work. Christianity (as a religion of the so-called white) was first preached in Nigeria at Badagry in 1842 by Rev Thomas Birch Freeman and he celebrated the first Christmas in Nigeria the following year. The site where Christianity was first preached then is now the "Agiya Tree Monument" beside the Badagry Town Hall.

The first educational system of Nigeria as a British colony started in Badagry where the first primary school was established by the Wesleyan mission (Methodist Church) in 1843 and named Nursery of Infant Church which later became St. Thomas’ Anglican Nursery and Primary School, founded by Rev. Golmer of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in 1845, inside the first storey building in Badagry. The Wesleyans in the same year 1843 then went to central Lagos and founded Olowogbowo Methodist School and Ereko Methodist School in 1869. Olowogbowo Methodist School is still waxing strong located just behind Wesley Cathedral Olowogbowo while Ereko Mehodist School was relocated to Berkely Street and is also still waxing strong. The first secondary school in Badagry was built over one hundred years later called Badagry Grammar School in 1955 due to misunderstanding between the Missionaries and the natives that made them leave the town unceremoniously. In 1863 the town was annexed by the United Kingdom and incorporated into the Lagos colony. In 1901 it became a part of Nigeria.